Mavericks make Wizards disappear

WASHINGTON, DC — Monta Ellis poured in a game-high 23 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to an 87-78 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON, DC — Monta Ellis poured in a game-high 23 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to an 87-78 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.

Vince Carter added 13 points and Brandan Wright chipped in with 10 for the Mavericks, winners in three straight.

“He makes big plays for us all the time,” said Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle about Ellis. “His string of free throws to end the game was the decisive factor. Everybody played hard and that’s the important thing.”

John Wall scored 22 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists and Trevor Booker scored 10 points and pulled down a career-high 19 rebounds with the Wizards, who had won five of their last six entering the contest.

“Sometimes you’re just going to have one of those games and that was tonight,” said Wall. “We just weren’t making the shots and they did.”

Washington led 61-59 at the start of the fourth quarter and pushed their spread to 74-70 after Gortat’s step-back jumper at the 4:59 mark.

The Mavs used a 9-0 run to go up 79-74 with 2:14 remaining and the hosts never got closer than three the rest of the way.

Dallas led 25-20 after the first 12 minutes, but went into the break trailing 42-39.

The Wizards went up 51-43 just over four minutes into the third, but a 16-4 Dallas run, capped with a Carter trey, put the Mavs up 59-55 with 1:55 to play in the third. Washington, though, closed the quarter on a 6-0 run to take a two-point lead into the final frame.

Notes: Dallas shot just 38.5 percent (30-for-78) from the field, but went 21-for-23 from the free throw line … Dallas’ Shawn Marion had nine points and nine rebounds in the win … The Wizards committed 19 turnovers … Booker’s previous career high was 17 rebounds.

Philadelphia 114, Denver 102

DENVER — Evan Turner led all scorers with 23 points and the Philadelphia 76ers recorded another rare road win with a 114-102 triumph over the Denver Nuggets. Thaddeus Young contributed a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Michael Carter-Williams flirted with a triple-double, scoring 16 points with nine rebounds and six assists in the win, Philadelphia’s second straight on the road following a 13-game skid on the highway. Spencer Hawes chipped in with 13 points and eight boards for the Sixers. JJ Hickson and Ty Lawson each deposited double-doubles with Hickson scoring a team-high 19 points with 11 rebounds and Lawson giving 15 points with 11 assists for the Nuggets. Wilson Chandler netted 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc in the loss, Denver’s eighth straight.

Clippers 112, Charlotte 85

LOS ANGELES — Blake Griffin netted 31 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, as the Los Angeles Clippers used a strong third quarter to surge past the Charlotte Bobcats en route to a 112-85 victory on Wednesday at Staples Center.

Chris Paul posted a 17-point, 14-assist double-double, while Jared Dudley drained six 3-pointers and finished with 20 points for the Clippers, who had lost three of their last four games coming into the contest.

“When you move the ball side to side, it opens up the floor,” Dudley said. “When I see the ball go in, it brings confidence. I was aggressive tonight.”

Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker each scored 14 points to pace the Bobcats, who have lost four straight, including the first three games of a five-game road trip.

“We played a great, championship-caliber team tonight,” Charlotte head coach Steve Clifford said. “Our first half offense was good, but we didn’t play well in the second half.”

With the game tied 56-56 at the break, the Clippers opened the second half on a 14-4 flurry that Dudley bookended with a pair of 3-pointers to give LA a 70-60 lead with 8:00 left in the third.

Jefferson stopped the surge with a layup at the other end, but Dudley drilled another triple and DeAndre Jordan followed with consecutive buckets around an Anthony Tolliver jumper to make it 77-64 with 5:08 on the clock.

Toronto 95, Indiana 82

TORONTO, Ont. — DeMar DeRozan poured in a game-high 26 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 95-82 win over the Indiana Pacers. Terrence Ross added 18 points and Kyle Lowry finished with 13 points and 14 assists for the Raptors, winners in four straight. Jonas Valanciunas added 13 points and nine rebounds in the win. Roy Hibbert scored 16 points and Paul George added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Pacers, who had a five-game winning streak snapped.

Minnesota 124,

New Orleans 112

MINNEAPOLIS — Nikola Pekovic led seven players in double figures with 22 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves dispatched the New Orleans Pelicans with a 124-112 win Wednesday night. Kevin Love scored 21 points, Kevin Martin added 20, while Jose Juan Barea and Ricky Rubio netted 17 and 14, respectively, for Minnesota, which has won three straight and four of the last five games against New Orleans. Rubio also had nine assists and eight rebounds.

Dante Cunningham and Alexey Shved deposited 10 apiece in the win. Ryan Anderson paced all scorers with 25 points on just 2-of-8 shooting from deep for the Pelicans, who have lost two of three. Jrue Holiday finished with 19 points and five assists, while Anthony Davis scored 13 points to go along with four blocks.